Certification

CPRIT Grants Nearly $600k to The Cooper Institute for Cancer Prevention Program

The Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) will present a check for nearly $600,000 to The Cooper Institute® on Wednesday, Feb. 23, to create a weight management program specifically designed to help reduce the risk of cancer. It’s the first program of its kind to provide a single source of education and resources for both medical professionals and the public, when traditionally that information has been developed separately.

Up to 75 percent of physicians are not equipped to offer weight management programs as a prescription to reduce the risk of cancer. Through the CPRIT grant, The Cooper Institute will create continuing education programs for medical professionals focused on counseling to make changes for lifelong weight management and cancer prevention.

The education for medical professionals will seamlessly translate into a free website for patients and the general public. The site will offer visitors tools to monitor their progress, set goals, and learn about calorie intake through healthy eating and calorie output through physical activity when released in 2012.

The Cooper Institute is one of 22 organizations to receive a portion of the more than $11 million given to fund cancer prevention programs in Texas in the most recent round of funding. The Cooper Institute is one of four grantees that will address obesity through lifestyle modification programs.

WHYAccording to the American Cancer Society, about 570,000 Americans die of cancer each year, and a third of these deaths are associated with poor diet, physical inactivity and excessive weight.

A 2003 study by the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society ranked the states by incidence of cancers associated with excess weight. Texas was in the top 10 for colon cancer for both genders, and in the top half for kidney cancer, post-menopausal breast cancer and endometrial cancer in women.